Ko ois seppänä settäin

SKVR XIII1 2086·Metsäpirtti·1915·Collector: Hedlund, Hugo

In the SKVR edition: Metsäpirtti, Korholan Jaama. Hedlund 5. 15. Maria Jantunen, 83 v.

Song types: Emon vaivat, En ole musta luonnon musta - huolista, Huolihevonen, Kanna korppi kaihoani, Äidin vaivojen palkinto

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SKVR textEnglish

1Ko ois seppänä settäin,If I were a blacksmith of old,

2Takojana velluein,A forging wizard of ancient craft,

3Tiettäisin surusta suitset,I'd forge bridles from sorrow,

4Päitset päivistä pahoista,Headgear from days of woe,

5Huolista hyvän hevosen,From cares, a good steed's gear,

6Murhehista mustan ruunan.From griefs, a black stallion's tack.

7Ei oo seppänä settäin,There is no smith of old,

8Takojana ei velluein,No ancient forging wizard,

9Ei synny surusta suitset,Bridles aren't born from sorrow,

10Päitset ei päivistä pahoista.No headgear from evil days.

11Kantakoo korppi huolijain,Let the crow carry worries,

12Murhettain lintu musta,The black bird with griefs,

13Kantakoo kaivoo syyvää,Let it carry longing for deep waters,

14Kaivoo kalattommaa,Longing for fishless waters,

15Aivon ahvenettomaa,Waters without perch,

16Kalat kaikki huolestuut,All fish grow troubled,

17Ahvenet alas männööt,Perch sink down deep,

18Säri-lillit liukenoot.Tiny fish slip away.

19Mie (o) en ole musta, luonne musta,I'm not black in nature,

20En ole musta emon tekemä,Not made black by mother,

21Mie oon musta murhettain,I'm black from griefs,

22Mie en ole kaita luonne kaita,Not slender by nature,

23En kaita emon tekemä,Not made slim by mother,

24Mut' mie oon kaita kaihettain.But slim from yearning,

25En ole hoikka luonne hoikka,Not naturally graceful,

26En hoikka emon tekemä,Not made lithe by mother,

27Mie oon hoikka huolijain.I'm slim from cares.

28Milhä mie maksan maamon vaivat,How do I repay mother's pains,

29Hamarall' vai haloll'?With hammer or with grief?

30Maksanha marjatuuttisell'.I'll pay with berry-basket.

31Ei marjat mittää maksaBerries pay nothing,

32Emon ei ehtosen eholl',Not at dusk's arrival,

33Emo on nähnyt suuren vaivan,Mother bore great suffering,

34Kärsint on kivun kipiänEndured painful agony,

35Saunamaassa maatessaa,Lying in sauna-earth,

36Ammun joutsenen juoesta,I come from swan's stream,

37Virrasta vikevän linnun.From the swift bird's current.

English translations by DeepSeek R1, provided by Lidia Pivovarova (University of Helsinki). AI-generated translations may contain inaccuracies.

The text is that of the SKVR digital edition of the Finnish Literature Society (SKS), with these changes:

The edition’s line numbers are replaced by a number on every verse, counted as in the poem reader.

Source

Text: SKVR (Suomen Kansan Vanhat Runot), the digital edition of the Finnish Literature Society (SKS), licensed under CC BY 4.0.

Permanent address of this poem at SKS: http://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:sks-kvr-073636 · Read at SKS ↗

Added by RunoVerse: the English translations, the song types, the verse numbers and the links.